Kcorslee

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  3      Ambience  4      Service  2      Value  1     

Original review back in Dec 2010 indicated service was hanging on the poorer side and that my spicy sauce veal schnitzel was just ok and that I probably should've have played it safer.

Heading back there last night after the Nike Ladies in the night fun run and so unusually the Entertainment Quarter had some life. At first opted for the Fox & Lion for a cheap pub feed, however, it was relatively busy so we thought we would head back up to Bavarian Bier Cafe for another attempt on the assumption there would be less traffic.

Admittedly they were semi busy but certainly not splitting at the seams and therefore management of service levels should've been fine. It wasn't. Looking around and quite a few patrons were unhappy waiting unacceptable timeframes for drink and meals. It took the waiter approx 15 minutes just on our drinks order.

The food quality was poor. Steak was well overcooked for my partner and I requested a chicken schnitzel with a yoghurt and cheese sauce. Well at least that's what I thought the menu meant. No sauce with my schnitzel and when enquiring with the waiter he indicated those ingredients were mixed in with the breadcrumbs. Couldn't taste them. Only one side of my chicken was crumbed. Those two underwhelming meals totalled $65.

Strike two and won't be going back to the plate for Strike three.

May 04, 2012

7.2 Recommended

Food  7      Drinks  9      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  6     

Big fan of this bar. It's a fun place to chill & have a cocktail or try some South American wine/beers. We tried the bar snacks whilst we were there & they were really tasty. Considered booking into the restaurant section but at $20 entrees & mid $30 mains I thought it was bordering on fine dining establishment costs. Cool music in the background & plenty of smiling patrons. Perfect place for an ale or two.

Apr 25, 2012

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

This places just oozes class and professionalism. The staff looked sharp and they worked together like a well drilled team.

I had no idea this restaurant was a one hatter until reading up on it after our meal. I can totally understand why they have received that accolade.

There was so many tempting dishes on the menu we opted for the degustation with matching wines. The first couple of dishes were extraordinary, that being the Spanner Crab with Golden Beetroot and the Pork Belly.

To finish off the 6 courses we had one of the nicest desserts I have ever tasted. It was the spiced cassonade which was basically a baked brulee with blueberry compote and baklava wafers. Killer dish and perfect way to finish as the meal sizes were extremely generous for a degustation so a decadent rich dessert would've been a struggle.

Overall we spent $450 between the two of us, however, the food was fantastic and the wines were perfectly matched in my opinion. You couldn't expect too much less in terms of cost at most award winning restaurants.

Apr 13, 2012

7.6 Recommended

Food  9      Drinks  9      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  7     

Was at the Young and Jackson on Easter Sunday and obviously not in a position whereby we were spoilt for options considering majority of venues were closed. We noticed a sign for Chloe's Restaurant upstairs and thought what the heck.

Honestly wasn't expecting a great dining experience. The Young and Jackson is an old hotel which has been around for years and I have had many drinks there in the past but never really eaten there.

I would suggest the restaurant is somewhere between your traditional pub fare/ bistro set up to a pub with a 5 star dining menu and fit out.

We both opted for a medium rare eye fillet and soon were both turning to each other with significant looks of approval. Cooked to perfection, the beef just melted in the mouth and the gorgonzola butter sauce I had with it was brilliant. In fact we didn't stop talking about those steaks for the rest of our trip. Best steak in a long time.

Apr 13, 2012

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

What a brilliant hidden gem. Exactly the sort of dining experience I was hoping to achieve in Melbourne. I had never heard of the restaurant and was purely lucky enough to stumble across it whilst cutting across a laneway back to my hotel.

The staff were extremely friendly, decor sophisticated yet not over the top pretentious which I sort of feel is the vibe they are seeking.

The food was simply delicious. I have never been to an Argentian restaurant before and I can gladly say that is no longer the case. I look forward to my next trip to Melbourne.

Apr 13, 2012

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  3      Ambience  4      Service  2      Value  1     

Original review back in Dec 2010 indicated service was hanging on the poorer side and that my spicy sauce veal schnitzel was just ok and that I probably should've have played it safer.

Heading back there last night after the Nike Ladies in the night fun run and so unusually the Entertainment Quarter had some life. At first opted for the Fox & Lion for a cheap pub feed, however, it was relatively busy so we thought we would head back up to Bavarian Bier Cafe for another attempt on the assumption there would be less traffic.

Admittedly they were semi busy but certainly not splitting at the seams and therefore management of service levels should've been fine. It wasn't. Looking around and quite a few patrons were unhappy waiting unacceptable timeframes for drink and meals. It took the waiter approx 15 minutes just on our drinks order.

The food quality was poor. Steak was well overcooked for my partner and I requested a chicken schnitzel with a yoghurt and cheese sauce. Well at least that's what I thought the menu meant. No sauce with my schnitzel and when enquiring with the waiter he indicated those ingredients were mixed in with the breadcrumbs. Couldn't taste them. Only one side of my chicken was crumbed. Those two underwhelming meals totalled $65.

Strike two and won't be going back to the plate for Strike three.

May 04, 2012

7.2 Recommended

Food  7      Drinks  9      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  6     

Big fan of this bar. It's a fun place to chill & have a cocktail or try some South American wine/beers. We tried the bar snacks whilst we were there & they were really tasty. Considered booking into the restaurant section but at $20 entrees & mid $30 mains I thought it was bordering on fine dining establishment costs. Cool music in the background & plenty of smiling patrons. Perfect place for an ale or two.

Apr 25, 2012

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

This places just oozes class and professionalism. The staff looked sharp and they worked together like a well drilled team.

I had no idea this restaurant was a one hatter until reading up on it after our meal. I can totally understand why they have received that accolade.

There was so many tempting dishes on the menu we opted for the degustation with matching wines. The first couple of dishes were extraordinary, that being the Spanner Crab with Golden Beetroot and the Pork Belly.

To finish off the 6 courses we had one of the nicest desserts I have ever tasted. It was the spiced cassonade which was basically a baked brulee with blueberry compote and baklava wafers. Killer dish and perfect way to finish as the meal sizes were extremely generous for a degustation so a decadent rich dessert would've been a struggle.

Overall we spent $450 between the two of us, however, the food was fantastic and the wines were perfectly matched in my opinion. You couldn't expect too much less in terms of cost at most award winning restaurants.

Apr 13, 2012

7.6 Recommended

Food  9      Drinks  9      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  7     

Was at the Young and Jackson on Easter Sunday and obviously not in a position whereby we were spoilt for options considering majority of venues were closed. We noticed a sign for Chloe's Restaurant upstairs and thought what the heck.

Honestly wasn't expecting a great dining experience. The Young and Jackson is an old hotel which has been around for years and I have had many drinks there in the past but never really eaten there.

I would suggest the restaurant is somewhere between your traditional pub fare/ bistro set up to a pub with a 5 star dining menu and fit out.

We both opted for a medium rare eye fillet and soon were both turning to each other with significant looks of approval. Cooked to perfection, the beef just melted in the mouth and the gorgonzola butter sauce I had with it was brilliant. In fact we didn't stop talking about those steaks for the rest of our trip. Best steak in a long time.

Apr 13, 2012

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

What a brilliant hidden gem. Exactly the sort of dining experience I was hoping to achieve in Melbourne. I had never heard of the restaurant and was purely lucky enough to stumble across it whilst cutting across a laneway back to my hotel.

The staff were extremely friendly, decor sophisticated yet not over the top pretentious which I sort of feel is the vibe they are seeking.

The food was simply delicious. I have never been to an Argentian restaurant before and I can gladly say that is no longer the case. I look forward to my next trip to Melbourne.

Apr 13, 2012

6.3 Average

Food  6      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  6     

Bonus point for being open on Good Friday for lunch. Was really starting to struggle to find a place to have a nice meal. Obviously my plan of a food and wine weekend away in Melbourne lacked some logical thinking by way of doing it on the Easter Weekend.

Nice setting across from Port Phillip Bay. My char grilled kangaroo with potato and fennel was nice, my partners stir fried vegies dish resembled something closer to a soup and wasn't great.

Rest of the pub looked quite cool. Footpath seating, outdoor section offering tapas and a dimmed section to chill out with cocktail or wine.

Apr 11, 2012

5 Average

Food  5      Ambience  4      Service  6      Value  5     

Whenever in town I find it a must to head up to Lygon St and experience the entertainment of restauranters selling their food to passers-by and offering deals to suck people in. I would be lying if I said I hadn't been hooked in by a bottle of very cheap wine or a free entree before only to experience some pretty average meals. In fact I love taking anyone new to Melbourne there to get a first hand view of it all.

After reading many pleasant reviews on this site, I decided to take the guess work out of play and book in.

Staff were pleasant and relatively prompt but they appeared very busy so not much in the way of warmth. We were a table of two squeezed in next to a table of approx 15 to 20 young people celebrating a birthday. It was pretty loud as you would imagine so that deterred from the experience a bit but that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Food wise - Not bad. Portion sizes are large. We had arancini balls and buffalo wings as shared starters and I was starting to feel the pinch after them. Mains we had the gnocchi with beef ragout and the home made meatballs with angel hair pasta. I enjoyed them but certainly no wow factor.

Apr 11, 2012

4.8 Average

Food  3      Ambience  6      Service  5      Value  5     

Popped into Melbourne for the Easter Long Weekend and saw a cheap meal offer on Jump On It for this venue. Only $39 for 4 Pintxos and 1 main each plus a jug of sangria. Good deal it seemed and nice way to start the weekend especially overlooking the Docklands area and good water views.

Unfortunately, we only received two starters which were two small pieces of bread (one with tomato, cheese and basil pesto and the other was tuna, spanish onion and walnuts) and then a large dish of seafood paella to share. I asked for the paella to share so certainly no qualms there, however, it was bland at best and like a packet of flavoured rice you buy at the shops with little much else going on bar a few pieces of seafood and the rice.

I think the set up of the place was quite funky and very Melbourne which I liked but could see myself more so drinking at the bar and listening to a band or DJ play rather than eating good quality meals.

Apr 11, 2012

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.5 Average

Food  6      Ambience  7      Service  4      Value  5     

Located in the Rocks near the weekend markets strip and backing onto our famous harbour. We went for lunch recently on a Saturday before a 2pm show at the Opera House. We arrived at 12pm and we were promptly seated by the window. Normally a big plus, however, our table was lucky to get glimpses of the harbour and the sun was pouring right through onto our table. Very hot. Thankfully it didn't take too long to pass over.

We started with a couple of share hor dourve plates and they were really tasty. Perfect way to start what I was guessing would be a fantastic lunch. See my partner had organised her work functions there previously and each time they received rave reviews from clients.

Unfortunately, our mains did not come out for another 45 minutes and making it to our show was becoming increasingly a concern. I asked our waiter (who I must add was lovely and very considerate but she did admit to being new and seemed under the pump) if we were in a position to cancel our mains if they hadn't already commenced cooking but apparently they were not too far away. We decided to stick around and shovel our lunch down.

Mains were just ok. Bit bland I thought but, perhaps, the obvious rush going on in the restaurant was telling in the kitchen. Or, perhaps, the rush for us to finish was not exactly heightening the senses on our tastebuds

I realistically should've indicated we needed to be in and out by 1.45pm and then monitored their reaction so will certainly take that on board next time I try to squeeze in a meal. I was unashamedly excited about going to Baroque but expectation outweighed performance on this day.

Mar 30, 2012

6.8 Recommended

Food  5      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  6     

Nice location overlooking Georges River in Como and obviously a popular destination. My partner and I took a stroll over to the pub seeing as though it was a nice sunny day. We have popped our heads in for a drink before but until now hadn't eaten at the Bistro.

The Bistro was packed with many tables reserved outside and on the balcony. We were fortunate enough to grab the last two seater available. Pretty stock standard pub menu. We were advised upon ordering that we could expect a 30 minute wait considering how busy the kitchen was. Obviously they are applying the old undersell over deliver method as we received our meals within 10 minutes. Certainly can't complain about that as I was expecting a large delay with the number of patrons there on the day

I opted for the fish and beer battered chips as I saw how crispy and golden the chips looked as I walked in. They were the highlight of the dish for sure. My partners chicken salad had some nice flavour but the chicken was extremely chewy and thoroughly overcooked. The meals weren't overpriced. About $20 which is what you pay these days for standard pub feed.

Will probably test them out again and see if they can improve.

Mar 21, 2012